February Sales Final Table: Strongest Month In 4 Years

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: March 1st, 2012

february sales final table strongest month in 4 years

February sales are coming in stronger than expected, indicating a post-Presidents Day boom. Chrysler and Volkswagen lead the charts with a 40 and 43 percent gain over February 2011.

February 2012 New Car Sales

AutomakerFeb. 2012Feb. 2011Pct. chng.2 month

20122 month

2011Pct. chng.BMW Group26,21619,94931%45,98738,63519% BMW division21,20416,41629%37,60932,32116% Mini4,9803,50342%8,3146,25433% Rolls-Royce32307%64607%BMW Group26,21619,94931%45,98738,63519%Chrysler Group133,52195,10240%234,670165,22042% Chrysler Division27,00812,628114%44,61222,333100% Dodge42,69233,56127%74,14657,87528% Dodge/Ram65,97453,85523%115,89891,18927% Fiat3,227––%5,138––% Jeep37,31228,61930%69,02251,68934% Ram23,28220,29415%41,75233,31425%Chrysler Group133,52195,10240%234,670165,22042%Daimler AG19,68316,66318%41,41334,29721% Maybach4333%8633% Mercedes-Benz18,91016,17617%40,14033,44920% Smart USA76948459%1,26584250%Daimler AG19,68316,66318%41,41334,29721% Ford Motor Co. 178,644156,23214%314,938283,21311% Ford division171,732150,28414%302,905271,45912% Lincoln6,9125,94816%12,03311,5065% Mercury–––%–248–100%Ford178,644156,23214%314,938283,21311%General Motors209,306207,0281%377,268385,925–2% Buick14,02315,807–11%24,23129,076–17% Cadillac11,50515,768–27%20,42928,349–28% Chevrolet151,197142,9196%275,061268,3083% GMC32,58132,5340%57,54760,192–4%General Motors209,306207,0281%377,268385,925–2%Honda (American)110,15798,05912%193,166174,32811% Acura11,25810,7964%19,63918,7575% Honda Division98,89987,26313%173,527155,57112%Honda (American)110,15798,05912%193,166174,32811%Hyundai Group96,18976,33926%174,400141,34223% Hyundai division51,15143,53318%93,84580,74716% Kia45,03832,80637%80,55560,59533%Hyundai Group96,18976,33926%174,400141,34223%Jaguar Land Rover4,2773,24732%8,4676,45331% Jaguar1,02269248%2,0071,62723% Land Rover3,2552,55527%6,4604,82634%Jaguar Land Rover4,2773,24732%8,4676,45331%Maserati19115920%34527326%Maserati19115920%34527326%Mazda25,65119,38732%49,64733,65448%Mazda25,65119,38732%49,64733,65448%Mitsubishi4,7366,893–31%9,44712,607–25%Mitsubishi4,7366,893–31%9,44712,607–25%Nissan106,73192,37016%186,044164,21713% Infiniti9,2399,1441%16,03516,549–3% Nissan Division97,49283,22617%170,009147,66815%Nissan106,73192,37016%186,044164,21713%Porsche2,1492,0196%4,6994,4196%Porsche2,1492,0196%4,6994,4196%Saab Cars North America–581–100%–1,239–100%Saab–581–100%–1,239–100%Subaru25,37421,68317%48,18140,54119%Subaru25,37421,68317%48,18140,54119%Suzuki2,4251,64348%3,9304,205–7%Suzuki2,4251,64348%3,9304,205–7%Toyota159,423141,84612%283,963257,70210% Lexus16,67813,81421%28,95226,6749% Scion4,9383,94425%8,4737,21917% Toyota division137,807124,08811%246,538223,80910% Toyota/Scion142,745128,03212%255,011231,02810%Toyota159,423141,84612%283,963257,70210%Volkswagen39,23429,31634%75,91555,61037% Audi8,5317,75310%17,88515,56515% Bentley12610125%24418333% VW division30,57721,46243%57,78639,86245%Volkswagen39,23429,31634%75,91555,61037%Volvo Cars NA5,2634,79510%9,7249,0717%Volvo Cars NA5,2634,79510%9,7249,0717%Other (estimate)2622553%5245103%TOTAL1,149,432993,56616%2,062,7281,813,46114%

February shapes up to be the strongest month in almost four years, says Automotive News [sub], which also supplied this table.

#BertelSchmitt #February #Sales

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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Getacargetacheck on Mar 01, 2012

Something doesn't seem right about 480% and 315% increases for the Chrysler 300 and 200 respectively. Major fleet sales push? Incentives?

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- Mjz on Mar 01, 2012
  
  How about the American public actually likes the redesigns and realizes they are stylish, high quality products that are great values?
  
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- Pch101 on Mar 01, 2012
  
  "Major fleet sales push?" That would be my guess. That's definitely the case with GM in February. I would presume that if one was to crunch the numbers, it would show that Hyundai has reduced its fleet sales, and that the domestics are stepping in to fill the resulting gap. This may be an indication that fleets are expanding in anticipation of stronger economic growth, which when combined with Hyundai focusing heavily on retail, results in heavy demand for rental cars and one less company to provide the majority of the supply.
  
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- Th009 on Mar 01, 2012
  
  Part of the reason the increases are astronomical is because last year's numbers were bad. And that 315% doesn't include Sebring in the 2011 count. 300: -- Feb 2010: 4487 -- Feb 2011: 1323 -- Feb 2012: 7670 (up 70% over 2010, up 480% over 2011) 200/Sebring: -- Feb 2010: 3160 -- Feb 2011: 3000 -- Feb 2012: 9717 (up 208% over 2010, up 224% over 2011)
  
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Monty on Mar 02, 2012

SAAB? Hello? Are you there?

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